Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 13:59:34 -0400
From: Writer Boy
Subject: jc's hitchhiker - part 97
Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
1) If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or
you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You
shouldn't be here.
2) I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no
way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or
anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.
Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com". I enjoy
constructive criticism, praise, and rational discussion. I do not enjoy
flames, and will not tolerate them.
Back to the story in progress.
***Jack***
We waited dutifully for Andrew to leave the plane, the two of us holding
hands off to the side of the gate, staying out of the way and trying to
look inconspicuous in our hats. Josh had put the red sunglasses he'd picked
out for me back on, and I wondered if I should talk to him about whether or
not we could be unnoticeable in t-shirts with rhinestones all over the
front. After a long stream of people, Andrew finally appeared, and went
with us to the baggage claim, again finding a helpful staff person with a
luggage cart. After we loaded on our bags, Andrew's tiny suitcase mixed in
and looking almost like an afterthought since it was the only bag there,
other than our carryons, that didn't have big obnoxious Gucci symbols all
over it.
"You're such a label queen," I said, giggling, as Josh handed the porter
our last bag.
"Don't pretend you don't love me for it, K-Mart," Josh said, pressing a tip
into the guy's hand. He looked from me to Andrew. "Did either of you happen
to notice which way the car rental counters are?"
"They're down that way," the porter said, pointing in a direction opposite
either of the ones Andrew and I pointed at. Josh handed him another tip,
and he gleefully followed us, doubtlessly anticipating a third handout for
helping load the bags into the car. When we finally stood in the parking
garage in front of the giant SUV Josh had rented, all I could do was shake
my head.
"We needed this why?" I asked, wondering if I'd need help to get into
it. It was enormous, and black, like one of those things the bad scientists
chased the tornadoes with in "Twister".
"Mostly for our luggage," Josh said, watching the porter load everything
into the opened back. "It was either this or a minivan, and I think this is
kind of sexy."
"Boys and their toys," I sighed, shaking my head as Andrew snickered.
Finally a crack in his stone face. When it was time for us to go, I watched
as Josh and Andrew argued over who got to drive. I knew that Josh wanted
to, having rented this for the sole purpose of driving something huge and
manly, but Andrew also had a valid point.
"With all due respect, JC, I'm trained as a driver as well," Andrew said,
holding out his hands for the keys. "I know the odds are slim that someone
starts chasing us, or rams the car, but really, I'd feel better if I was
driving."
"But we didn't hire you so you could drive us everywhere," Josh said,
almost whining. "If we wanted that I would have just hired us limos. And I
kind of wanted to drive one of these. I was thinking of buying one for us."
That was the first I'd heard of this. I knew we needed another car, since I
couldn't drive the Jag or the Viper, but hell might freeze before I let
Josh plant one of these in the garage. I was thinking something small and
cute, like a Jetta or a Beetle, not a giant gas sucking Canyonero, or
whatever one of these was called.
"Come on, Josh," I said, taking the keys out of his hand. "Let Andrew
drive, and you can sit in the back with me. I'm sure you'll get to drive it
later, ok?"
"You don't mind if we both sit in the back?" Josh asked Andrew.
"No, not at all," Andrew answered, smiling as he took the keys from
me. "Let me just take you to the hotel now, Miss Daisy."
I snickered as Josh, crestfallen, watched Andrew climb into the front seat.
Behind Josh's furrowed brows, though, I could see the wheels turning
already, and I wasn't surprised when he leaned over before we were even out
of the parking garage. One of the good things about the car being so
massive was that we could whisper and Andrew wouldn't hear a word. He
glanced at us in the mirror a few times, and I wondered if he could read
lips. Later on, when we knew him better, I would probably laugh about these
impressions, but right now he was just such a mystery, and my mind couldn't
leave it alone, filling in all sorts of secret agent type details.
"Tomorrow I'm going to make him follow us in another car," Josh whispered,
and I chuckled softly, nestling against him. It was getting dark out, and
we'd had a long, long day. "I didn't really plan anything for tonight,
because I thought we'd both be tired. Are you ok with room service?"
"Whatever you want is fine, Josh," I said, hugging him tightly.
At the hotel we had yet another person dragging bags up to our room, and
then waited patiently while Andrew checked our suite, as if he thought
there might be terrorists or assassins hiding in the closets. Josh told him
he was off for the night and sent him to his room, promising we wouldn't
leave the suite, and then began rummaging around in his carryon bag,
putting something in his pockets. I picked up the room service menu,
scanning it. It was several pages long, and I had no idea what I felt like.
"Josh, what do you want for dinner?" I asked, standing near the phone and
kicking off my shoes.
"You," he growled from behind me, knocking the menu aside as he grabbed my
arms and pushed me up against the wall, pressing against me.
"Josh!" I blurted, surprised, as he raised my arms, pinning them to the
wall above my head. He ground himself against me, licking and sucking at
the back of my neck.
"I want you so bad," Josh growled, his hands sliding down my arms to clutch
and pull at my chest. I pressed back against him, feeling his hard cock
drilling against my ass crack, muffled by our clothes. "It's all I've been
able to think about."
"Oh, God, Josh," I groaned, leaning against him, feeling his body shift as
he pushed me against the fabric covered walls of our suite. His arms were
strong, sliding over me, his palms and fingers splayed hungrily against my
torso.
"You are so fucking hot, baby," he groaned wetly against my neck.
I kept my hands up on the wall, dancing back against him as I felt his
hands grab the bottom of my shirt. He tugged it up over my head and threw
it to the side, and returned his hands to my chest, kneading my pecs,
running his fingers up and down my abs. I tossed my head from side to side
as he mouthed the back and sides of my neck, leaning down to lick wetly at
my shoulders, scraping his teeth over me. His fingers found my nipples,
both at once, and began to pinch and twist at them as the rhinestones on
the front of his t-shirt scraped against my back. I yelped, feeling them
scratch a little, and then his hands were gone for a second as he tugged
his own shirt off and also tossed it away. As he rolled the tips of my
nipples between his fingers again I felt his hot, hard chest pressing
against my back, his pecs dancing as his arms shifted.
Josh's hands dropped down my chest, pressing as they slid over my muscles,
carefully rebuilt through sessions almost daily with the same trainer they
used. Josh's tanned fingers crawled onto the front of my cargo pants and
grabbed my hard cock and balls, squeezing and groping them through the
fabric. I groaned again, my hips jerking back against him, and I felt his
throbbing cock pressing into me again, sliding up and down the crack of my
ass. Josh purred against my neck, squeezing my cock again, the pressure of
his hands and the soft velvet feel of his body against mine driving me
insane. I wanted him as badly as he wanted me, both of us throwing
ourselves against each other with an aching, consuming need. Both of us
were sighing and moaning, and Josh was leaving my shoulders and neck wet
with his spit. Throwing me up against the wall and just ravaging me was
pretty different for Josh, but it was pretty hot.
Josh dropped to his knees behind me as his hands practically tore open my
belt and pants. He jerked them down, along with my boxers, and then I felt
his tongue just above the small of my back. I sighed with pleasure as he
stood, dragging his tongue up the curve of my spine before he fastened his
mouth wetly onto one of my traps. He grabbed my arms again and pinned them
above my head to the wall with one hand, holding them there as his other
hand snaked around behind me, and he continued grinding his cock against my
bare ass.
"Hold these," he whispered, pressing a condom and a small tube of lubricant
into my upraised hands. He kept his other hand around my wrists, and his
free one drifted down to my cock. He stroked it a few times, my hips
pressing back against him again as I moaned, and then he gave my head a
long, hard squeeze. "You're so hard, baby. Is that for me?"
"Yes," I whimpered. "Please, Josh, please."
"Please what?" he asked, and I could hear the smile. His free hand left my
cock, stopping to tug once at my balls, and then it vanished behind me as
he began chewing at my ear.
"Please fuck me," I begged. One of his feet tapped my ankle, kicking my
legs wider apart, and then I heard his pants hitting the floor.
Josh's hand wrapped around my cock again, sliding up and down it. He
squeezed firmly, keeping his fingers in a tight ring around it, and rolled
his hand over my sticky, slowly dripping head. Each time he touched it,
running a finger around the ridge where it met my shaft or rolling his palm
over the top, I whimpered, and pressed myself against him. At the same
time, he was rocking his hips against me, and I felt his hard cock dancing
up and down my crack, throbbing against me. He was leaking a little as
well, leaving a sticky trail up and down my ass, and I felt him pressing
insistently against my hole as he continued to nip and suck at my neck. He
groaned again as he rubbed his cock up and down my crack, and then he
reached up and took the condom and the lube from my fingers.
I gasped as I felt the cold lubricant against my ass, his fingers pressing
against my hole. I yelped as he pushed one inside, and then he pushed in a
second finger. I felt them probing inside me and sighed, wincing a little
as he jabbed a third finger into me, stretching me as he lubed me up. I
pressed back against him, moaning tightly as I gripped his fingers, beads
of sweat glistening on my forehead as I kept my hands pressed up against
the wall. Josh's other hand dropped from my wrists down to my cock,
jerking it roughly, distracting me. I braced myself, hands flat, as I felt
Josh shifting behind me, his fingers leaving me, and then I felt the firm
pressure of his cock against my hole. Before I could do anything he
slammed forward, driving all the way inside me in one stroke, and I gasped,
letting out a sharp cry.
My head fell backward, lolling onto Josh's shoulder, as I tried to catch my
breath, and his hands slid up my chest, holding me against him. Even as I
felt myself starting to adjust, I felt Josh's thighs flexing against mine
as he began to slam into me, hard and fast. He jabbed inside of me, filling
me, stabbing at my prostate, and each push sent a wave of pleasure washing
through me. His hand slid up my chest, covering my neck, and turned my head
roughly toward his. As I yelped in time to his thrusts he jammed his tongue
into my mouth, sealing his lips over mine. His other hand was on my hip,
his fingers digging in as he held me in place.
I felt Josh's chest pressing against my back, his abs sliding over me, his
pecs grinding against my shoulders. His nipples, hard points, rubbed over
the wings of my shoulder blades, both of us slick with sweat now. Josh's
chest vibrated against my back as he groaned in time with his thrusts, each
inward stab sending a yelping sigh out of me. Josh kept his hand on my
neck, forcing my head back onto his shoulder as he gnawed wetly at the
other side, his teeth scraping and worrying over that damn hickey that was
never going to heal and which he seemed unable to leave alone. The cords in
my neck tightened each time Josh drove his pelvis against mine, and my
whole body strained against him. His thighs slammed into mine each time,
flexing, as his sinewy dancer's body drove me against the wall, only my
outstretched arms keeping me from slamming against it. His hand drifted up
from where he had gripped my hips, leaving behind a white print on my
tanned skin, and wrapped around my waist.
"Turn," he purred, pulling me by the neck and waist.
My body hung against him as he walked me across the room, his cock buried
to the hilt inside me. I felt impaled by him, speared, and I hung on him as
I let him lead me, thrusting the entire way, across the room to the
couch. My knees hit the side, and Josh pushed me forward, draping me over
the arm of the couch. I pressed my hands against the cushions, my arms
flexing as I began to throw myself backward in time with Josh's thrusts. He
gripped my shoulders with both hands, driving himself into me, both of us
yelping and sighing and straining. I gripped his cock tightly, squeezing my
ass around it, trying my best to clench in time to his thrusts, and I felt
his balls slapping against mine.
"Harder, Josh!" I grunted, tossing my head back, trying to get my sweaty
bangs out of my eyes.
"I'm so close," he groaned, his voice high and tight, but still somehow
husky. His breath was hot against my neck, and his tongue swiped across my
skin, licking me as he went back to chewing my ear again.
"Me, too," I whined, straining. Every thrust stabbed against my prostate,
sending wave after wave of intense pleasure surging through me.
One of Josh's hands dropped from my shoulder to reach around under me and
wrap around my cock again. He began to jerk me off, roughly, in time to his
rapidly increasing thrusts, and the couch groaned and squeaked beneath us
as he continued pounding into me. Josh's body was hard and taut above me,
his muscles locking, and my own was straining beneath him, sweat running
off of both of us in rivers. I yelped each time he slammed forward, my
teeth gritted as I panted between them, and Josh's own pants began to rise,
turning into high squeaks. I knew those sounds well, and wasn't surprised
when he began to slam forward even faster, his hips pistoning like a
jackrabbit's. He went rigid above me, letting out a high, wordless scream,
and I felt his hips jerk as he shot into me. At the same time his hand
squeezed convulsively around my cock, and I let out a sharp yelp of my own
as I began to shoot across the couch cushion.
Josh collapsed on top of me, but I kept my arms locked, not wanting to land
in the mess I'd just made, knowing I'd be able to hold us up until Josh
recovered in a second or two. He panted against me, and then lifting
himself up, sliding carefully off of and out of me. Josh kissed the back
of my neck and walked quickly into the bathroom, grabbing some toilet paper
to take care of the condom. I followed him in and reached around him to
turn on the shower, feeling sticky and slimy. Josh climbed in with me,
facing me, and rested his arms on my shoulders as he crossed his hands
behind my neck. I stared warmly into his soft blue eyes, watching them grow
as he leaned in toward me. Josh's mouth settled down softly over mine as
the water cascaded down over me.
"That was hot, babe," I sighed, my hands roaming up and down his sides. I
dropped them down onto the hard curves of his ass and cupped them as he
continued to kiss me. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Josh sighed, reaching for the little bottle of hotel
shampoo. Ours, like everything else, was still packed. "Why don't we rinse
off, and then call for some dinner?"
"Works for me," I said, lathering up his hair.
I loved to wash Josh's hair, but had to be careful, because it tangled
easily. We always enjoyed washing each other, and frequently the shower was
one of our few quiet times of the day together. When all the other guys
were around, or Josh was working, we had trouble fitting in time that was
just for us, not for sex, but just for togetherness. Now we had an entire
honeymoon together, but we still fell back on our old habits, washing each
other's backs, carefully massaging each other's scalps with shampoo. When
we finished we toweled each other off, laughing and touching each other
playfully, and I grinned as Josh's eyes peered out at me from beneath the
towel I was drying his hair with. We pulled on the plush robes the hotel
provided, and I flipped through the movie schedule as Josh called room
service and ordered us a fruit and cheese platter and a bottle of wine for
dinner.
We had a nice quiet evening together lounging on the couch, after we turned
over the sticky cushion. We kept the robes on, laying against each other as
we watched a movie, slowly feeding each other pieces of cheese and fruit,
sipping our wine. Josh shut off all the lights in the suite, and we nuzzled
against each other in the soft bluish glow of the television. Eventually
Josh started to fall asleep, and when the movie was over we went in to bed,
dropping the robes on the carpet and spooning skin to skin against each
other in the bed. We murmured to each other softly, telling each other good
night.
"Love you," Josh mumbled, almost completely asleep against my back.
"I love you, too," I whispered, letting myself drift off.
When I woke up I was alone in the bed, all twisted up in the sheets. I sat
up, looking around, and Josh walked into the bedroom, carrying a tray. He
was fully dressed, his hair a little wet, and looking casual in a polo
shirt and khaki pants. When he smiled at me over the tray as I pulled
myself up I noticed that his face looked different below his sparkling blue
eyes.
"Good morning!" he chirped brightly. I tried to figure out when Josh had
become a morning person.
"You shaved off your beard!" I blurted, finally putting it together.
"You don't like it?" Josh asked, leaning down to set the tray over my legs.
"Breakfast in bed."
"I've never seen you without it," I said, tilting my head to the side. "But
I like it."
"I cut it off for the Celebrity tour," Josh said, shrugging. He leaned in
closer and I ran my hand over his bare chin as he smiled and nuzzled
against my palm. He kissed my fingertips.
"Yeah, but I wasn't around then," I said. I'd first met Josh on the
Popodyssey, and he hadn't come to visit me that first time until after the
Celebrity tour was over. "You grew it back before you came to see me."
"Actually, um, I grew it because I was coming to see you," Josh said,
blushing. "I wanted to be exactly like I'd been when you and I met, so I
grew it back in before I flew out to see you."
"That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard," I said, feeling my
eyes water. I don't know why I was so touched, but it struck me again how
scared and unsure Josh must have been when he flew out to see me that time,
and how well he had covered it. "Where are you going?"
"To get my tray," he said, walking out of the room. "I'm hungry, too."
Josh carried his own tray back into the room and climbed up on to the bed
beside me, shoes and all. I looked down at the trays and saw that it was my
favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup and bacon on
the side cooked so crispy as to be almost black. I felt extremely spoiled.
"I've never eaten naked breakfast in bed before," I said, the sheet pulled
demurely up to my waist.
"Then we'll have to do this more often," Josh said, leaning over to kiss
me. "Nothing but the best for you. Now eat up. We have a fun day ahead."
"What are we doing?" I asked, eagerly curious.
"It's a surprise," he answered, smiling. "Now drink your coffee and dig
into that breakfast."
After eating and showering, I walked back into the bedroom of the suite to
find clothes neatly laid out for me on the bed. Josh was in the front room,
sitting on the couch, writing in his notebook. Josh and I called them
notebooks, but really they were large sized blank books, and he did
everything in them: sketching, songwriting, notes to himself, to do
lists. He saved all of them on a shelf at the house, but I hadn't looked at
any of the old ones. I knew that there were things from the time I was gone
that dealt with Josh and Justin, and I didn't want to see that. Besides,
those were Josh's private thoughts, and I respected that too much to just
flip through them. He smiled when I went past in my towel, and I scanned
the clothes on the bed, but they offered no clues. Like yesterday's outfit,
this was just a variation on Josh's, a different colored polo, but
everything else was the same. I giggled at realizing that he had actually
picked boxers that matched the outfit.
"Ready?" he asked, when I dressed and walked out of the bedroom.
"I guess," I answered. "Do I need anything?"
"I packed you a bag while you were in the shower," Josh said, handing me my
backpack. Inside I found my book, sunglasses, phone, camera, and a tube of
sunblock, but still no clues. Josh added his notebook and two folded
windbreakers. "Let's go."
We walked next door to Andrew's suite, where he was apparently waiting for
our knock, as he pulled the door open as soon as Josh's hand touched it. He
was a little more casually dressed today, and I wondered if Josh had talked
to him. Josh handed him the valet ticket, and the three of us went down to
the lobby and picked up the SUV. I sat in the back at their direction, and
the three of us chatted a little as Andrew drove us to our unknown
destination. He and Josh mostly talked football the whole way, Josh being a
big Redskins fan while Andrew was partial to the 49ers, and I didn't have
much to add, being more into hockey when I watched any sports at
all. Eventually we reached the coast, and finally came to a marina. Andrew
parked the car and walked into the boathouse with us as I carried my bag
and Josh carried a wicker picnic hamper that had been in the back of the
car.
"I'll pick you guys up at five?" Andrew confirmed.
"Yup, five, and how you're dressed now is fine," Josh said. I was staring
at both of them, feeling a little annoyed at being out of the loop, and
Josh finally threw me a bone as Andrew smiled and began walking back to the
car. "We're going out for crab at one of my favorite restaurants. You'll
love it."
"What are we doing before that?" I asked, impatient. "I mean, clearly we're
going on a boat, or we wouldn't be at the marina. Please tell me?"
"I'm taking you out onto the ocean," Josh answered, smiling. "Come on."
The guy working at the desk walked us out and down the docks, chatting with
Josh about the water and the conditions today before we came to a stop at a
small sailboat.
"She's all set, and yours for the day," the guy said, grinning as Josh
pressed a tip into his hand. I'd long since gotten used to the way Josh
felt the need to grease everyone's palm. "Enjoy yourselves."
"There's no crew?" I asked Josh as the desk guy walked away.
"Jack, it's a small boat," Josh answered. "We don't need a crew. I'm going
to take you sailing."
I followed Josh into the boat, sliding my sunglasses on and sitting where
he told me as he untied the lines. I wanted to help, but didn't know what I
was doing. It was obvious, though, that Josh had a lot of experience with
this. I sat back and enjoyed the sun as Josh steered us out onto the water,
taking us some distance from the shore before fixing the sail and coming to
sit by me. I followed his lead and carefully coated my nose and forehead
with sunblock.
"Isn't this great?" Josh asked, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
"It's so beautiful out here," I said, looking around at the bright blue
water. The sky was clear, and there was a nice wind, although the waves
weren't too bad. "I didn't know you could do this."
"I love to sail," Josh said. "It's so peaceful, and when you take a small
boat, it's just you and the water. I've been doing this since I was
little. I have more skills than just singing and dancing, you know."
"Of course I know, silly. I've never been on a sailboat before," I
confessed, leaning against him. I watched the hairs on his forearm catch
the sun, glittering golden brown against his tan. My own tan was rather
impressive, as well, but Josh's natural color was brown to begin with,
where mine was chalk white. "I've been on a lot of yachts, some speedboats,
and a few pontoon party barges, but I've never been on one of these. It's
different. I'm used to the engine vibrating, and the noise, but you're
right. This is really peaceful."
"Come on over to the wheel with me," Josh said, taking my hand. "I'll teach
you a little bit about how to do this."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "I don't want to sink us."
"Jack, we're in deep enough water," Josh said, laughing. "Only you'd think
of that. If you're really that worried, here. Put on a life vest."
Josh snickered, but I put it on anyway, and then insisted that he wear his,
too. Josh tried very hard to teach me how to maneuver the boat, but none of
it really made a lot of sense to me, and all this babbling about trim and
keel and whatnot was as baffling to me as mandarin Chinese. Josh was very
patient, but eventually he just gave up, along with me. After resetting
our course, he fixed the sail again, and put the radio on as we leaned back
on the bench at the rear of the boat, holding on to each other and drinking
in the sun. I pulled out the camera and took a few pictures, wanting to
hold this moment, and after a while Josh opened the picnic basket. Inside
there were a lot of different sandwich halves, neatly wrapped, along with
carrot and celery sticks, a little thing of dip for them, some cookies, and
several bottled lemonades in various flavors.
We ate quietly, feeding each other little bites of our sandwiches like we
had at dinner last night with the platter. I wondered where Josh had gotten
this basket put together, as the sandwiches were exquisite little things
with exotic fillings, like something out of a Martha Stewart magazine or
something. The two of us didn't really need to talk much, just enjoying the
togetherness and the easy companionship, and Josh and I neatly tucked the
wrappers and empty bottles back into the basket, keeping everything neat
and clean. It wasn't our boat, after all. When we were done eating, Josh
sat down beside me and took my hands, a serious look crossing his face.
"Jack, I need to talk to you about something," he began, swallowing. "I
told the guys I would, and I guess now is as good a time as any."
"What is it, Josh?" I asked, squeezing his hands. "Is it about the trip?"
"No, it's about the new tour," Josh answered, surprising me. "I need to
talk to you about it, because I want to make sure you understand what I
want to do."
"Josh, I'm not quite part of the band," I said, confused. "Why do you need
to ask me what you guys are doing?"
"Because it's about you," Josh said. "Well, sort of. We want to do
something a little different on this tour. We're doing a bunch of the old
songs, and some of the new songs, too, but we also want to highlight
ourselves as individuals a little, you know? Give everybody in the audience
a chance to see each of us alone. I mean, the last tour was kind of like
Justin and the Nsync's, like Diana Ross, and he feels bad about that now,
and wants to let everyone else shine a little, too."
"I'm following so far," I said, nodding. The Celebrity tour really had been
like the Justin Timberlake show, although Josh got a fair amount of time,
too.
"So in between some of the songs, we're going to each sing one by
ourselves," Josh said, squeezing my hand. "Justin's going to do 'Gone',
since that's kind of his, and Joey's gonna sing 'Ready to Fall'. Chris and
Lance are still deciding what they're going to do, but I wanted to ask you
about mine, because I wanted to do 'Incomplete'."
"Oh," I said, surprised.
When I had been kidnapped, and Josh thought I left him, he had started
writing a letter to me, to try to work out the way he felt. Over time,
while he was with Justin, the letter had become more of a song, and finally
he put music to it. It was utterly unlike any of their other songs, just
Josh's voice and one piano, and it was a haunting mix of loneliness and
loss, somehow blended with the hope that his love would return to him. Josh
had explained to me how he had written it, trying to write out some of his
pain, and how he had changed the title from "Dear Jack" to "Incomplete"
once he decided it was actually something he wanted to share with the
others. The guys, on hearing it, had decided unanimously to include it on
the new album, although there had been a lot of discussion when I
resurfaced about whether or not to keep it there, because they were afraid
it would hurt me. In the end, I had been the deciding vote. It did hurt me
a little to hear it, but at the same time, it was a love song for me. It
told me how much I meant to Josh, and how much he needed me, and the song
was too beautiful not to share with everyone else.
"Jack, I don't want to do it if it's going to hurt you," Josh said. "I know
it's on the album, but we're not dropping it as a single, because I don't
want to cut the other guys out like that, and I don't want to do a video
for it, because it hurts me, too, sometimes."
"Josh, are you sure you want to sing that every night of the tour?" I
asked, concerned. It would be like ripping open his scabs every time he got
up on stage.
"I thought about it," he said, nodding. "But it's the same thing you said
the first time you heard it. For me, that's a song about how much I love
you, and I want other people to hear that. All the people who say it's just
about sex, and that you and I don't really love each other, this is the
chance to show them something else."
"Josh, you don't have to prove anything to the world," I said.
"I know," he answered. "But I also want to tell the world how much I love
you."
"Then do it, Josh," I said, kissing him. "Go ahead and do the song on the
tour."
"Are you sure?" he asked, holding me.
"As much as you are," I answered, laying my head on his chest. "I love
you."
"I love you, too," he answered.
We sat like that for a while, just drifting with the boat, holding each
other. Eventually Josh sat up, carefully sliding out from under me.
"It's time to go back in," he said, smiling. "We have to meet Andrew for
dinner, and then I have to take you home and ravage you again."
"I'm up for that," I said, grinning.
***
To be continued.
Before I go, I want to say thank you to everyone who nominated and voted
for this story in the BBSA's. If you swung by the ceremony, you saw that I
was more or less speechless, because that kind of support is overwhelming
to me. Any doubts that I had about my skills as a writer are more or less
squashed, at this point, and it's because of the support I've felt from so
many of you. Thanks for reading and supporting me, and I hope you will
continue to do so, as well as reading and supporting the many other
wonderful authors posted on the archive.